Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Here is the apple crisp recipe that I teased yesterday, with the outrageous claim that it’s the crispiest apple crisp topping ever. Can I prove that fact? No, and that’s the beauty of such culinary hyperbole, no one can prove otherwise.

The secret ingredient, as identified by several astute observers yesterday, is Grape Nuts. This extremely crispy and crunchy breakfast cereal does some amazing things to your basic oatmeal-based fruit crisp topping mixture. I figured anything that can soak in milk for 10 minutes and still be crunchy, would work well.

Here is a link in case you are not familiar with this product, and if you can’t get any, don’t worry, you can just double the oatmeal, or add other things like chopped nuts, etc. Will it be as good? No, not even close.

By the way, in case you’re not sure, this is a dessert. It’s not a breakfast food, it’s not a healthy snack, it’s a sweet, buttery, deliciously crispy dessert. If you want healthy, slice some apples over a bowl of oatmeal, but if you want a semi-decadent after dinner treat, I hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Some of you are having issues with your own "accidental apple candy," and while I joked about it in the clip, I should have been more clear about not cooking the sugar too much before adding the apples. You can add them pretty much right after the sugar goes in the pan to avoid this issue. The risk with that is too much water from the apples diluting the caramel sauce, but that's probably the lesser of two evils.

Looks perfectly wonderful. Last fall I made an apple pie for the freezer to be consumed in the spring in memory of my granddaughter. The tree was planted almost 7 years ago in her memory and this was the first time we had enough apples for a pie. I had enough apple filling left over to make a little pie that I cooked immediately. The apples were Pink Lady and I had no idea if they were good for pie or not.As it turns out, that little pie was so darn delicious. From now on I'm using Pink Lady in my apple desserts and pies.Thanks for that wonderful looking crisp recipe.Jackie

This was the first time I didn’t follow your exact directions for a recipe chef, & it caused this dish to come together quite differently for me.I skipped the pre-cooking of the apples, which I assume is the reason I didn’t have enough topping to cover them all. So I increased the topping amount, which was enough, but it was very moist...like a cookie dough. The moist topping was having a hard time browning, so I raised the heat & baked it an extra 20 minutes. All & all it turned out great, but I'll admit I was getting a little nervous there.Next time I'm sticking to your methods chef...promise.

Sift the dry ingredients together several times to blend thoroughly. Beat the liquid ingredients together, stir intothe dry ingredients. Mixture should be very fine, just like commercial Grape Nuts (not doughy). If too wet work in a little additional flour.

Spread on 2 or 3 baking sheets and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Stir to break up granules and bake 10 minutes longer, until fragrant and golden brown. Cool and store in air-tight container.

Instructions:Mix all ingredients; Spread on cookie sheets and bake 35-40 minutes at 350. Break up in chunks and air dry in 200 degree oven until it is brittle (overnight). Grind in food chopper; Store in large airtight canisters.

Very yummy looking apple crisp. On a totally unrelated note, there's a new Telenovela on Univision that had a couple swanky ballroom party scenes and at the beginning of each scene, they started playing the "Buddy" imovie song you use for your videos. I was hoping you'd pop up and whip up something good to eat, but alas, I had to settle for cheesy melodrama instead.

I made this today, but when I added the water it immediately turned the caramel sauce in the pan into hard candy. I'm not sure if this was supposed to happen, but my heat was on low to medium so that I wouldn't burn it. I ended up taking the crunchy bits out and added a bit more of the two sugars to coat the warmed apples before putting in my baking dish. Oh well... that aside this turned out fantastic! Thank you very much for finally showing me how to make the apple crisp I always wanted! :)

Yes, I'm posting an update now. I joked about it, but should have been more clear about me cooking the sugar too much before adding the apples. You can add them much earlier to avoid this issues, but the risk there is too much water from the apples diluting the sauce, but that's probably the lesser of two evils.

Hey Chef! Thanks for the update, I encountered that tonight while making this. No worries, I picked out the candied bits and went for another round, pretty much doing what you suggest. Worked great. It's cooling now and the whole place smells wonderful.

We would call this Apple Crumble downunder. Only difference is we don't cook or coat the apples in sugar first. They go straight into the dish after cutting them. I like to give a generous sprinkle of cinnamon at that stage. Then cover with the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon combo. I will have to try your ultra sweet version sometime. :-) Thanks!

Made this twice this week. Yep, it's that good. So here's the deal. If you cook the sugar enought to make a pre-Carmel sauce then add the apples, you get apple candy. Simple fix...melt the butter, add the sugar until its mixed together, add the apples and cook on medium heat until the liquid reduces and the apples soften. Fantastic. Grape Nuts are PERFECT for this! Chef John, you'da man! PS: my wife loves it when I make this, and it's cheaper than going shopping.

Update on technique...melt the butter, add the sugars, stir to combine, immediately add the apples then stir and cook. Do not add water; the apples will give up plenty. When the apples are soft, remove them with a slotted spoon, then continue to reduce and develop the caramel sauce. In addition to cinnamon I also added some grated nutmeg and Chef John's secret weapon: Chinese five spice. Awesome recipe Chef!

I've made this a few times, and while I've resorted to routinely adding the apples to the pan right when the sugar goes in so the sugar doesn't seize up, it's a keeper! the only change I've made is switching out the tablespoon of water for bourbon.